This commentary prepared by the editorial team of commonspace.eu was first published on the 4 May 2021 issue of Arabia Concise
Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s young crown prince and de facto ruler, is many things to many people. Whilst in 2019, his international image as a reformer was seriously dented by the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi; he remains popular with a lot of young Saudis, who think he is taking the country in the right direction. At the same time, his reform policies have ruffled the feathers of the traditional and deeply entrenched establishment on which the Kingdom is based, including the large royal family and the religious scholarly preachers (ulema).
Last week, the Crown Prince took things a step further. In a wide-ranging interview with Saudi journalist Abdullah al-Mudaifer he appeared to be reinterpreting – if not exactly redefining – the relationship between state and religion in the Kingdom. This is highly dangerous and uncharted territory for a Saudi leader, but something that is absolutely necessary if the Kingdom is to reinvent itself as a modern progressive state, whilst respecting the religious foundations which are part of its legacy and legitimacy.
You can read the full transcript of the interview on the website of the newspaper Arab News here.
Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam, and home to the two most holy places for Muslims in the cities of Mecca and Medina. Every day on five occasions hundreds of millions of Muslims turn towards Mecca to pray. A pilgrimage to the holy places in Mecca, the Hajj, is part of the religious obligation of the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims. This puts a huge responsibility on the ruler of Saudi Arabia, although it is also a role that brings with it pride. Saudi Arabia was never colonised by a non-Muslim power. The Ottomans ruled over it for many centuries, greatly enhancing the stature of the Sultan, enabling him to assume the religious title of Caliph.
Nowadays, the official title of the Saudi Monarch is 'Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques'. Nowhere, with the exception of the Vatican, are state and religion so intrinsically intertwined – not even in neighbouring Iran where the Shia Muslim clerical establishment plays a significant role in the running of the state.
The first two parts of Mohammed bin Salman’s interview focused on the more mundane issues of the economy; the successes or otherwise of the Vision 2030 strategy, which the Crown Prince has made his blueprint for the future; and other issues ranging from unemployment to the environment. The interviewer was not entirely convinced by the ambitious figures set as goals but Mohammed bin Salman suggested that good state planning and determination can transform the Kingdom.
In the third part, however, the interviewer moved to the issue of the relationship between state, citizen, and religion, or as the interviewer put it, “the space Sharia occupies in the State. Meaning, on the level of the constitution, the judiciary, the public space, and on the level of freedoms of individuals.”
The Crown Prince replied,
“Our constitution is the Quran, has been, still is, and will continue to be so forever. And our basic system of governance stipulates this very clearly. We, as a government, or the Shura Council as a legislator, or the King as a reference for the three authorities, we are bound to implement the Quran in some form or another. But in social and personal affairs, we are only obliged to implement stipulations that are clearly stated in the Quran. So, I cannot enforce a Sharia punishment without a clear Quranic stipulation or an explicit stipulation from the Sunnah. When I talk about an explicit stipulation from the Sunnah, most hadith writers classify hadith based on their own typology, like Bukhari, Muslim and others, into correct hadith or weak hadith. But there is another classification which is more important, namely whether a tradition or hadith has been narrated by many people or a single narrator, and this is a main reference for jurisprudence for deducing regulations, Sharia-wise.”
In his response, Mohammed bin Salman affirms that Quran and Sunnah are the basis of all political, social, and personal life in the Kingdom. However, he also says that the government should adopt Hadiths with proven authenticity – based on who narrated them.
Furthermore, when challenged directly to say whether the modern Saudi Arabia is somehow in contradiction to the teachings of its leading religious school, that of Muhammed bin Abdulwahhab, the Crown Prince was equally direct:
“When we commit ourselves to following a certain school or scholar, this means we are deifying human beings. God Almighty did not put a barrier between Himself and people. He revealed the Quran and the Prophet PBUH implemented it and the space for interpretation is open permanently.
“If Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdulwahhab were with us today and he found us committed blindly to his texts and closing our minds to interpretation and jurisprudence while deifying and sanctifying him he would be the first to object to this. There are no fixed schools of thought and there is no infallible person. We should engage in continuous interpretation of Quranic texts and the same goes for the sunnah of the Prophet PBUH, and all fatwas should be based on the time, place, and mindset in which they are issued. For example, 100 years ago, when a scholar would issue a certain fatwah not knowing that the Earth was round and not knowing about continents or technology, etc. that fatwah would have been based on the then available inputs and information and their understanding of the Quran and Sunnah, but these things change over time and are different right now.
“So, ultimately our reference is the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet PBUH, as I said.”
The Crown Prince’s response to questions on the state-religion relationship has surprised many. He mentioned that Saudi Arabia is open to Ijtihad (interpretation) of religious texts and does not abide by a single scholarly philosophy unlike what was observed and felt for decades as the Kingdom adopted the philosophy of Wahhabism. Both the Quran and Hadith are key legal sources that compose the legal core of the Kingdom and what Mohammed bin Salman appeared to be doing was adopting a refined understanding of how to interpret each during policy implementation without seeming to challenge the relationship between religion and state.
The interview, and particularly this part of it, created a big discussion in Saudi Arabia and beyond. Some have argued that this is a new chapter of state-religion relations. Others, however, advise caution and suggest that what Mohammed bin Salman was doing was more nuanced. After all, in his vision, the state remains a de jure religious state and adopts its legal framework from sources of Sharia law. What the Crown Prince was suggesting was a different approach when it comes to the interpretation of some of these sources.
Saudi Arabia is not about to become a de facto secular state. Islam remains part of the state fabric and its conservative culture, and this will remain. However, the relationship between State and Religion are being reinterpreted, and particularly when it comes to personal behaviour:
“One can’t go and reinvent the wheel. The world follows clear laws that regulate the lives of people. Our role is to make sure all the laws passed in Saudi Arabia reflect the following: One, that they do not violate the Quran and the Sunnah; the Quran being our constitution, that they do not contradict our interests, that they preserve the security and interests of citizens, and that they help in the development and prosperity of the country. So, laws are passed based on this procedure according to international conventions. If you want tourists to come here... If you aim to attract 100 million tourists to create three million jobs, and you say that you are following something new other than common laws and international norms, then those tourists will not come to you. If you want to double foreign investments, as if we have done, from five million to 17 million, and you tell investors to invest in your country that is running on an unknown system that their lawyers do not know how to navigate nor know how those regulations are applied and enforced, then those investors will just cut their losses and not invest all together. When you want to attract certain talents and human resources to work in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and say that you have a new invention for enacting laws, no one will come to you. So, you will have to adopt the laws that are internationally recognized based on your constitution, the Quran, and your interests and objectives and based on the preservation of the security and interests of the citizen and with the development and prosperity of the country in mind.”
Asked by the interviewer how he views the concerns, apprehensions, resistance, and fears over identity in some segments of society at the prospect of joining the globalization process in tourism, entertainment, etc. the Crown Prince was bold in his answer:
“If your identity cannot withstand the diversity of the world, it means your identity is weak and you need to do without it. And if your identity is robust and authentic and you can grow and develop it, and promote its positive sides, then you will have preserved and strengthened your identity. The proof is the way we dress and our traditions and our culture and heritage, and most importantly, our Islamic heritage, all of these constitute a big part of our identity that we develop over time and continue to foster to turn it into a world-shaping force. I believe that our identity is very strong, and we are proud of it. It is mainly driven by you, me, and every citizen in Saudi Arabia and the movement taking place in [Saudi Arabia] and based on our Saudi identity, which is derived from our Islamic, Arabic, and historical culture and heritage.”
In this interview, Mohammed bin Salman has spoken about issues that no other Saudi leader has dared to since the foundation of the Kingdom. Striking a balance between fulfilling what is seen as Saudi Arabia’s sacred role as the home of Islam, and satisfying the needs of a modern progressive state that must cater for the requirements of its future generations, is a huge challenge. The Crown Prince’s ambitions are dependent on whether he can carry his country and countrymen and women with him as he takes forward his Vision 2030, and the ability of the Saudi state to deliver the vision effectively for the benefit of Saudi citizens. Surely even Mohammed bin Salman’s strongest critics must respect his courage and ambition, which does not mean that he must not also be accountable for his policies and actions.
This commentary prepared by the editorial team of commonspace.eu was first published on the 4 May 2021 issue of Arabia Concise
Photo: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman being interviewed by Saudi journalist Abdullah Al-Mudaifer on 27 April 2021. (Twitter of Abdullah Al-Mudaifer)
